JOLIET – Joliet-area motorists pay thousands of dollars in state gas taxes, but Springfield is holding on to the money instead of sending it back to help pay for road salt, snowplow repair, fixing potholes and other road projects and maintenance.

“This whole ordeal has been frustrating,” said State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, who represents Joliet and other communities in Will County in the Illinois Senate. “The money belongs to the community.”

Right now money can’t be sent to the communities without some kind of official authorization. In May, the Senate approved legislation containing that authorization, but it was vetoed by Gov. Rauner. The system has been at a standstill ever since.

In 2014, Joliet received more than $3.6 million in gas tax money. Across Will County, local governments received more than $21 million in gas tax money last year.

Bertino-Tarrant and other Illinois Senate Democrats tried to prevent this problem from occurring. In early September, the Senate approved a plan that would have provided the authority needed to send along the gas tax money. Senate Democrats provided the 36 votes needed to approve it. At the direction of Gov. Rauner, all Republicans opposed the legislation.

OSWEGO- State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) spoke to students from Traughber Junior High on Tuesday. The students are working on a research paper about state government. Bertino-Tarrant answered questions the students prepared about Illinois government.

“Having conversations with young people about state government and my activities in the legislature is one of my favorite aspects of the job,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “The students from Traughber Junior High were eager to learn, and I enjoyed talking to them.”

Springfield- Illinois State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) is proposing a constitutional amendment that would place term limits on legislative leaders in state government.

“I often hear from people throughout the district that Illinois would be better off if there were limits on how long the Speaker of the House and other legislative leaders could stay in power,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “My proposal would prevent someone from making a career out of being a legislative leader.”

Under Bertino-Tarrant’s plan, legislators could not serve more than 8 years as leader.

“Limits will give more members an opportunity to utilize their experiences and skills as legislative leaders,” Bertino-Tarrant said.

These term limits would apply to the Speaker of the House, the Senate President and the minority party leaders in both chambers.

For Bertino-Tarrant’s constitutional amendment to become law, it must be approved by the Illinois House and Senate. Then it would be placed on the ballot so the voters could make the final decision on term limits for legislative leaders.